Medtronic opens Irish customer innovation centre

Medtronic has announced the opening of a new customer innovation centre at its Irish site in Galway.

The facility was opened by EU Commissioner for innovation, research and science Maire Geoghegan-Quinn and will provide state-of-the-art facilities for physicians and Medtronic engineers to work together on developing new therapies and medical technologies.

It incorporates hybrid, demonstration and collaboration labs that will allow visitors to experience Medtronic products, as well as cutting-edge digital communication technology for global networking, 3D printing facilities to prototype new ideas and various training and education facilities.

Around 500 physicians and customers are expected to visit the centre every year.

Omar Ishrak, Medtronic's chairman and chief executive officer, said: "Physicians acutely understand the clinical needs of patients while we can bring our engineering capabilities and experience with global healthcare challenges to develop innovative new therapies that provide both clinical and economic value."

Last week, the firm announced that it has been included in the 2013 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, one of the world's most prestigious sustainability benchmarks.